Tennis Authorities Accept Daniel Evans's Explanation That He Accidentally Got Cocaine On His Pills, Limit His Suspension To One Year

Daniel Evans, a British tennis player with a hell of a forehand, was issued a one-year ban from tennis today by the International Tennis Federation after testing positive for cocaine in April. Evans admitted to using the drug outside of active competition and said he later put a packet of it in his “washbag” right next to his legal medications, inadvertently contaminating them (both of these details reduced the scope of possible punishment). The ITF’s expert agreed that Evans’s account and urine sample were consistent with a vanishingly small 1-3 mg dose of cocaine.

Here’s his story:

And here’s the ITF’s reasoning:

The full decision can be found here. Evans’s one-year suspension will be backdated to April 24. His is far from the most interesting excuse a tennis player has offered for testing positive for cocaine.